Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Down 11% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Cognex Corporation's shares dropped by 11% on Friday, reaching a low of $41.86 before closing at $41.43, amid a higher trading volume of over 2.3 million shares.
• Despite the recent decline, Cognex has received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus price target of $44.93 and several analysts maintaining a "buy" or "neutral" stance on the stock.
• The company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded estimates, with an EPS of $0.25 and revenue of $249.09 million, reflecting a 4.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) shares were down 11% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $41.86 and last traded at $41.43. Approximately 2,319,956 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 2,059,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Cognex in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.93.

Cognex Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.84.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.70 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 13.13%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 45.07%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.03, for a total value of $90,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,387.46. The trade was a 23.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Cognex by 148.5% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,075,772 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $223,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228,729 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 126.2% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,609,802 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $137,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571,457 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,159 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 32.0% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,082,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $181,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter worth about $45,723,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.

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